


Max meets Max

by Nukes_Den



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Episode 5: Polarized Spoilers, F/F, Other, Self-cest, Weirdness, enter at your own risk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 12:50:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nukes_Den/pseuds/Nukes_Den
Summary: Interpretation of Episode 5 : Polarised.What if Max isn't daydreaming? What if there's not one, not two, but way more Caulfields?What if one Max finds other? Could they find common language?P.S. Old and bad one shot. Any feedback is still appreciated.





	Max meets Max

**Author's Note:**

> Just to note : It's my first time ever trying to write something, so it may not be amazing. Plus it is on a touchy subject I *doubt* many people explored.  
> I'm sure there will be blatant out of character quotes, so any constructive critism is appreciated.  
> 

“It has been worst daydream ever…” thought Max, trying to open that digilock for so many times…  
“How will I find the right code?”  
It felt like hours, she tried many, not making any progress…

 _'Damnit!’_ – Caulfield shouted, punching the door…

“I’m going to make whoever made this pay for all those bullshit code puzzles!.. Wait, what’s that…”  
Realization struck her mind, as single code wasn’t reflecting in bathroom’s mirror.

_‘Score…’_

**“0-3-1-1”** It took seconds to open the lock now, one right try and it was done.  
  
Max smiled, stepping out in diner, but smile faded off almost instantly.  
“Holy heck” thought she, as time stopped. Everybody she knew, everyone who lives or lived in Arcadia Bay – they were here.  
Frozen in time, but still talking to one who was brave enough to get that far.

 _'Don't kill us, Max!'_ someone begged.

 _'I guess I'll never dance again, Max...'_ noted Dana, sitting on leaflet stand.

 _'Shit, Max... I thought we were on the same team...'_ questioned her Frank, eating same beans in the same booth he did 2 days ago.

 _'I can't believe you kissed me... Now you're going to kill me?'_   asked Warren.

"If his eyes were moving he'd be tracking me now"  
Max was **scared** of everyone. Everyone, or at least it seemed like everyone, was judging her.

But there was someone who was nor talking to Max, nor frozen spontaneously in time.  
It was **Maxine**. Well, **other** Maxine Caulfield. **“Max”** in gray hoodie and white doe shirt.  
The same outfit Max wore at Tuesday.

But something **was** wrong.  
It took some time to notice.  
Her eyes were red. Maxine had pouches under her eyes.  
Maybe she just didn’t slept for days or… **something** gone wrong.  
“Maybe, just maybe she knows something…” thought actual Max, approaching her carefully.

 

 _'Who… who are you?’_ Max came along, looking over her clone.

 _‘Are you cereal? I’m… you. Or us. Or I’m one of many Maxes.’_ she mumbled, head down, staring in table.

 _‘One of many? What do you mean?’_ raising eyebrows, Max sat on the other side of booth.  
  
_‘Guess you didn’t do that homework… Have you even thought where from did… our powers came?’_  
  
_‘I did, but…’_ Max shrugged, thinking.

_‘But?’_

_‘But not a lot! Just some late night chat with Warren.’_

_‘Found yourself a cliché nerd?’_

_‘Don’t call him like that…’_ – “Am I blushing for Warren? Too late **now** anyways…” thought Max after those words.

_‘Don’t tell me you’ve a got a crush on him, then.’_

_‘I am not crushing…’_ – “Maybe I **actually** do… Don’t distract yourself, Max!” – _‘So, you know how to get out of here?’_

_‘So you want help, huh? Thought you could twist time around your fingers and suffer no consequences?’_

_‘I… I didn’t! And you know it wasn’t our choice. I… We never asked for this.’_

_‘But we still were using to get people to like us. As if you cared about them.’_

_‘I do care! We do care… That’s why we made friends… At least, I did’_ Max shrugged, realizing she and that Max in front of her **might not be that same** as she originally thought.

_‘We are just looking for shortcuts… We are useless without power, we can’t make friends on our own…’_

_‘I saved Kate! Without that power. And here I am, talking to you without fabled powers.’_

_‘I… Maxine…’_

_‘Max, never Maxine.’_ – Max bit her tongue, swearing in her mind : “Why the **hell** did I just say it, damn?”

_‘Okay, Max… Why are you still here? You have your Chloe to save. Your Kate to help. Your Prescotts to deal with.’_

_‘Because you look terrible. I cannot just leave you here.’_

_‘Max… I’ve left a trail of death and suffering behind myself. And I won’t be hypocrite like you are.’_

_‘Max… Maxine.’_ Max bit her lip, trying to find **right** words : “It’s just like Kate at roof… but more important than Chlo or Kate” – _‘I don’t know what_

_you’ve gone through, but whatever it is, it can’t be worse than killing yourself. There’s always something to live for.’_

_‘What can I live for?! Rachel’s dead. Kate’s dead. Chloe’s dead. Even Warren is in coma. My timeline is worthless to me, yet I still have to return to it. Only here I don’t suffer attrition of being just a human.’_

_‘This… this is horrific…’_ Max stood up, tear rolling from one of her eyes, as she took a seat next to Maxine

 _‘You don’t know how bad it is!’_ Second Caulfield looked up, tear strains forming, voice near cracking.

_‘I can… I am your friend.’_

_‘How can you say it if we just met minutes ago…’_

_‘But I am Max Caulfield, as well as you are Maxine Caulfield. We’re one and together. We cannot not be friends.’_

_‘I guess it is…’_

_‘I can help you. It’s not worthy spending your life there. You’re torturing yourself while you could be helping Kate and Chloe…’_

_‘What? My timeline’s ruined. It’s too late to fix it.’_

**“You can…”** thought Max, but dropped it as soon as it came up – _‘I can… I can adopt you in my timeline.’_

_‘That’s not how it works.’_

_‘It will work. Kate was meant to jump off the roof…’_

Max **had** to pause. To wind down. For a couple seconds, maybe minutes silence ruled over diner, until…

_‘And I saved her. Chloe was meant to be shot by Prescott, Jefferson and herself, ran over by train…’_

_‘And..?’_ Maxine carefully asked.

_‘And I saved her too. I can’t just give up on me… I mean, on you.’_

_‘On us…’_ Maxine nodded, raising reddish eyes.

_‘Yes… on us. Even if I will need to carry you as rock for my entire life, I’ll save you.’_

_‘R… really?’_

_‘Yes. I can’t give up on my-actual-freaking-self.’_

_‘But I’m not you.’_

_‘You are me, and I am us.’_ – objected Max, winding up in pitch again

_‘Just promise a thing… No one will die.’_

_‘This is… Sure… for you. No one’s dying, as soon as we will be together.’_

 

Neither of them knew what to say, so they just held each-other’s hands, looking at what seemed everlasting – sunrise outside in window of diner.  
Two completely different, but too same, too **one of a kind** Caulfields might have more fate together. More connection than any timeline or higher force, if there was any, intended to have.

Max knew she didn’t calm down for long. They knew the fate of Kate. It will take weeks for trauma to wind down, especially if Maxine (or **Max?** She still wasn’t sure how to call her newfound friend) was suffering here for quite some time.

Maxine knew she finally found someone who cared. Even if it’s her… **clone**? It might be a start of new life, even if it will be hard to get used to living with a copy… But right now any thoughts of staying here forever sounded stupid to her.

Both knew, that they found, maybe, their best friend for rest of their lives. Too same and too different. As Max broke out the hand lock, Maxine smiled softly, tear strains softly fading on her face.

 

 _‘Ready to reality?’_ asked Max.

_‘Hella yes!’_

_‘Looks like someone was a good bad influence on you.’_ laughed Max off.

 

It looked like they were perfect pair.  
After all, sharing same names, relatives, and hella punk friend bonded them tighter than any trauma or problem ever could.  
Understanding each other from half-a-word and living their life one rewind at a time would be best they both deserve.

But how **Chloe** would react? How would everyone react and how double-Caulfield bomb would affect **the timeline**?  
It didn’t matter then, as they entered staff door in diner, leading to new future.

**Author's Note:**

> Just to note again, It's my first ever fic and English isn't my first language (even if I used it for couple years daily).
> 
> Any criticism and error reports are appreaciated.  
> If sequel ever happens, I plan to go for modified "Sacrifice Chloe" ending, i.e. Hospital Ending, i.e. Everyone lives except Rachel.
> 
> P.S: Diner sequence, several quotes and 0311 code is "ripped" straight out of Life is Strange's Episode 5 : Polarized. I do not own them, no copyright infringement intended.


End file.
